An investigation has been opened after the leaked documents online, which notably detail Washington’s views on the war in Ukraine and appear to indicate intelligence gathering on close US allies.
US President Joe Biden said on Thursday he was “concerned” by the leak of confidential American documents, the consequences of which the United States has been trying to limit for a week, without sounding the alarm.
“There is an ongoing investigation” which seems to be on the way to completion, said Joe Biden, visiting Dublin.
“I am concerned that this has happened,” he nevertheless said.
Details on the war in Ukraine
The US Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation after the documents leaked online, which detail Washington’s views on the war in Ukraine and appear to indicate intelligence gathering on close US allies.
Anticipating any announcement from the American authorities, the Washington Post alleged on Wednesday that the leak was the work of a young man who worked on a military base, who shared his information on a private online group on the social network Discord.
The American daily is based on the anonymous testimonies of two members of the group where hundreds of pages of confidential documents have been published, some of which are secret defense.
Discord at the heart of the investigation
The leak comes from a man with the pseudonym “OG”. For months, he published documents from the military base where he works.
“OG” asked the other members of the group not to distribute the documents, assuring that he had no intention of being a whistleblower, indicates the Washington Post citing one of its sources. He was critical of the state – whose “abuse of power” he denounced – law enforcement and the intelligence community.
The group of around 24 people, mostly men and boys, formed in 2020 around their mutual passion for firearms, military equipment and religion.
A spokesperson for Discord says the safety of its users is the platform’s top priority and that any content that violates its rules could result in the offender being banned, chat groups being shut down, and being reported to the authorities. .
“Regarding the apparent leak of classified documents, we are cooperating with law enforcement,” said the Discord spokesperson, who declined to elaborate as “the investigation remains ongoing. “.
online documents
The documents posted online reveal US intelligence concerns about the viability of a Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces, due to training and supply issues.
A document reviewed outlines US concerns about Ukraine’s ability to continue to defend against Russian strikes.
Dozens of photos of these documents have been relayed on Twitter, Telegram or Discord in recent days, some having undoubtedly circulated on the internet for weeks, if not months, before attracting the attention of the press.
However, US authorities have not publicly confirmed the authenticity of these documents posted online, and it has not yet been independently verified. The Pentagon said the case posed a “very serious” risk to US national security.
Protection des sources
In addition to the Ukrainian subject, certain documents also seem to indicate intelligence gathering carried out by the United States and targeting some of its allies, such as Israel and South Korea. Washington has since tried to reassure them.
Many of these documents are no longer available on the sites where they originally appeared, and US authorities are reportedly working to have them all removed.
The fallout from this leak could be significant, potentially endangering US intelligence sources, while giving their enemies valuable information.
